LONDON HOMICIDES Lawyer: Worley didn't intend to kill couple

The prosecutor said the defendant was a 'partner in death and destruction.'
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A defense attorney of a 21-year-old Youngstown man facing capital murder charges said his client did not intend to hurt an elderly couple and went to their home only to rob them.
Atty. James Gentile, one of two court-appointed attorneys representing Mark Worley, told jurors during opening statements Monday that his client's co-defendant, Scott Burrows, was the one who decided to kill Dorothy and Charles London.
"He went with Scott Burrows to commit property crimes," Gentile said in the courtroom of Judge Andrew Logan.
"He went to steal cars and other pieces of property. He had no weapons. He just had an inoperable BB gun. The evidence will show he did not intend to hurt anyone."
What happened: Worley and Burrows, 20, of Hubbard Township, were indicted in the Dec. 15, 1999, killings of London, 75, and Mrs. London, 74. Worley and Burrows also were indicted on charges of aggravated robbery.
Police said Worley and Burrows took the couple's two vehicles and other items, including firearms, that were in the Londons' Hubbard Township home.
Burrows was convicted of aggravated murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to two life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.
Worley faces the same charges. If convicted, he could face the death penalty, life in prison without parole or parole eligibility after 25 or 30 years.
Prosecutor Dennis Watkins told the jurors that Worley was Burrows' "partner in death and destruction."
Watkins said Burrows and Worley had discussed robbing the Londons for several weeks. The Londons were Burrows' former next-door neighbors.
Prosecutors said that the two went to the London home Dec. 15 and told London they needed help fixing their truck. They told London the truck was located off Mount Everett Road. London drove the two to the area.
What prosecutor said: London was robbed and killed there, Watkins said. The two then put London's body in the trunk and then went back to the Londons' home. Prosecutors said the two killed Mrs. London and then robbed the home of several items.
"They then split the proceeds," Watkins. "They each got $100 and a car."
Defense: Gentile said Worley tried to talk Burrows out of killing Mrs. London.
"Mark Worley found himself in an overwhelming situation, and he tried to prevent Mrs. London's death but he could not," Gentile said.
Prosecution: Watkins noted that DNA evidence will show that blood from both murder victims was on Worley's clothes.
He said London's blood is found in the trunk of the car that Worley was driving and a knife that was found in the car that Worley was driving had Mrs. London's blood on it.